AA/N: This is my 2017 Bonesolgy Secret Santa fic for Mphs95. One of the things she wanted was Booth/Jessica & Brennan/Aubrey talks with one pair outside and one pair is in danger (i.e. trapped in collapsed building, locked in safe room, hostages, etc.) post A/J break up. Karen annoyed at concern Aubrey has for Jessica or SO of Jessica annoyed of her concern for Aubrey. Get out/recover around Christmas and they decide to talk.
In the months since she broke up with Aubrey Jessica had only left her apartment to work at the lab and to run errands on the weekends. Two weeks ago her best friend, Danielle convinced Jessica to go to a speed dating session with her. Jessica met Connor, an investment banker by day and Sci-Fi geek by night. They had some things in common, Connor loved catnip tea every morning with his Wall Street Journal and English muffin. They had similar taste in movies, music, books and sports teams. Connor wasn't turned off by Jessica's upbringing, her career choice or current job. For their second date they went to the movies now they were ending the night with dinner at The Founding Fathers. They'd barely started eating their dinner when the TV behind the bar showed a breaking news headline, Jessica's fork hit her plate with a clank. Connor looked over at her, "Jess, what's wrong?" Jessica pointed to the TV, Connor looked over his shoulder and saw that an old industrial building had blown up and it hadn't yet been determined if anyone was inside at the time. "Oh that sucks, but it's late at night and it's likely that no one is in there."
"I have to go…"
"What? Why?"
"Because the body we got today was found there and as I was leaving to go home to change for our date Dr. B and Aubrey were on their way back there to look for more evidence. They could be hurt or worse… I have to go."
"Why? You can't do anything…."
"I just need to be there…"
Connor snorted, "Wait... it's because you dated him… you still have feelings for the guy don't you?" Jessica shrugged and pulled out her cell to call a cab.
Connor sighed "Wait, wait I'll take you because hopefully this is nothing and we can get back to our evening." Jessica nodded and watched as Connor asked for to-go containers and dump their food inside. Jessica pulled on her coat and quickly headed to Connor's car. The drive to the location felt like it took forever, Jessica was out of the car before it even stopped. Connor parked and followed her. Jessica gasped when she saw the building, it was leveled except for part of a rear wall. She got a sinking feeling in her stomach, there was no way anyone could have survived the collapse. The scene was crawling with people, but Jessica easily spotted Booth. "BOOTH! " Booth looked up when he heard someone call his name, he secretly hoped it was Brennan. Jessica was moving quickly toward him. Booth moved toward her and braced himself for impact. Jessica's momentum caused her to crash into Booth, he put his hands on her arms to steady her.
"Booth, how are Dr. B and Aubrey? Were they in there when it blew up?" The words tumbled out of Jessica's mouth in a panicked jumble.
Booth smiled slightly. "Relax and breathe…" He waited a few minutes for Jessica to get her emotions a little under control. Once she was breathing normally Booth continued, "That's' better. They are in there, Aubrey's SUV is parked behind the command center. We don't know anything else yet. Bones sent me a text that they found what she was looking for. I sent a tech team out here to help them search and less than two minutes after that we got a report of an explosion from PD. They're going to be okay, it's going to take a while to dig through the debris."
"Okay, I don't know why I came all the way here. I was at The Founding Fathers having dinner when I saw the breaking news report and I got this overwhelming need to be here."
"Completely understandable. The rest of the squints will be here soon I'd imagine. They're going to be fine, Jessica. "
"I know, I just… I just need to know that Aubrey and Dr. B are okay."
"Hopefully soon. I'm going to go see what I can find out." Booth squeezed Jessica's shoulder, ducked under the crime scene tape and walked toward the command center. He'd only taken a few steps when he heard someone else call his name, turning to his left Booth held in a groan as Karen Delfs came towards him, she stopped short of invading his personal space. "Agent Booth, how is James…uh how are Agent Aubrey and Doctor Brennan."
"I don't know. All I know is Bones found whatever evidence they went looking for. Bones sent me a text that they found it and I sent a tech team out here to help them search. Less than two minutes after that we got a report of an explosion from PD. They're going to be okay, it's going to take a while to dig through the debris." Karen nodded and noticed Jessica standing on the other side of the crime scene tape. "What is she doing here? She's an intern, she's not even part of the case…"
Booth chuckled a little and looked over his shoulder at Jessica. "Actually Jessica part of this case, so she has every right to be here. Plus her advisor and someone she considers a friend are buried in a ton of crap somewhere over there. Who knows if they're badly injured or worse? The squints, interns included are a family. And by some miracle Aubrey and I are included in their family. I can guarantee you that Jessica would be here even if she and Aubrey hadn't been in a relationship for two years." Karen scowled.
"So where is everyone else?"
"Behind you…" Karen turned to see Cam, Arastoo, Hodgins, Angela, and Wendell standing in a group behind her. Booth moved past Karen to address his friends.
"Bones and Aubrey haven't been found yet. All I know is Bones found whatever evidence they went looking for. She sent me a text that they found it and I sent a tech team out here to help them search. Less than two minutes after that we got a report of an explosion from PD. They're going to be okay, it's going to take a while to dig through the debris."
"Are you sure they're in there, Booth?"
"Relativity, Aubrey's SUV is parked on the other side of the command center. Everybody go stand with Jessica and be NICE! I'll be back as soon as I can be with an update." Booth noticed the dirty look Karen shot Jessica and pulled her aside, "Either behave or go back to the Hoover and get the Heartland file from the cold case room and go over it." with that Booth strode to the command center. Karen went to reluctantly stand with the others. A few minutes later Booth ducked back under the crime scene tape to stand in front of the squints. "They been haven't found yet, we're waiting on the search and rescue dogs to get here. With so much debris the dogs will be faster than we will searching by hand. I'll update everyone as soon as there is anything to update on. Bones and Aubrey are going to be fine." Booth made his way back to the command center.
***30 minutes earlier right after the building blew up***
Aubrey sat up and tried to look around, but all he could see was smoke, dust, and large chunks of the building everywhere. He cleared his throat, "BRENNAN!"
I'm about 40 feet to your left, Aubrey."
"Good. Are you hurt?"
"My injuries are minor, I do not need immediate medical attention."
"Good. Booth is still going to kill me…"
"Why would Booth kill you? You had nothing to do with this …"
"True, but when I started working with you both I had to promise Booth that I'd protect you with my life when you and I are out in the field. I've pretty much failed that one today… if Booth were here he'd gotten you out of here before it blew. He would have thought to look for booby-traps or signs of an explosive before you even touched anything."
Brennan smiled in the darkness. "Possibly, but I've been blown up a few times with Booth right beside me. I didn't see anything that would've lead me to believe the building was going to blow up. Likely the explosives were wired to detonate via cellphone signal. I might have set things in motion when I texted Booth or he when he replied. It's no one's fault, our current situation is the fault of the suspect."
"I know."
"Are you injured?"
"I have cuts and my knee hurts, but I'll live. We're stuck here there is a beam and stuff blocking the way we came in. I don't even know how we'd go about getting out of here, the building is gone except for that wall over there. I wonder how long it will take them to get us out of here."
"Not long, I imagine Booth is out there doing everything he can to get us out of here..."
"Yeah do you think anyone else is here?"
"Probably the rest of the team is here, including Ms. Warren."
"Jess…"
"Aubrey, I'm no person to give advice on relationships, but I think that you and Ms. Warren should talk things over. Neither of you have been happy since you broke up…"
"Jess said we didn't have a future, not here or L.A."
"I know, but that was an emotional time for everyone. Things are different now, I'm not saying that you'll return to your previous relationship, but you need to talk to her."
"I'll try when we get out of here. Hopefully she'll want to talk to me."
"I think she will."
***OUTSIDE***
Two agents walked over to the group of squints carrying drink holders, "Booth sent you guys' coffee. The one with the frown on the lid is decaffeinated… We haven't found anything yet, the dogs just got here we should know something soon." Angela took one of the drink holders and handed it to Hodgins and she took the other one. "Tell Booth thanks." The agents nodded and walked away. Angela and Hodgins passed out the coffee. Angela took the last two coffees over to Jessica and Connor who were standing off to the side. "Booth sent coffee. Jessica he'll be okay."
"I know. I'm just worried about Aubrey… and Dr. B."
"We all are, this is Brennan's second explosion in three and a half months. I just hope her brain didn't get bruised this time. I don't think that she and Booth could go through that again."
"True." Angela sipped her decaffeinated coffee as she and Jessica watched the flurry of activity across the street. After a few minutes Angela walked back to the rest of the group. Connor walked over to Jessica, "Jess, let's go back to my place, warm up our dinners and watch Netflix or something…"
"Connor, I'm staying until Dr. B and Aubrey are found."
Connor sighed and crushed his now empty coffee cup. "Jess, we're on a DATE for crying out loud! I've spent the last 45 minutes standing in a dingy parking lot that I didn't know existed until you gave me directions, drinking disgusting coffee waiting to hear if your boss and the FBI dude you used to date are alive. This isn't my idea of a second date. I understand that you're concerned for them, but I'm sure someone here will call you and let you know how it turns out…"
"Connor, if you don't want to be here go home. I'm staying…"
"But why? It's obvious the dude's current girlfriend doesn't want you here, she's been shooting daggers at you since we got here. "
"Connor, they're my FAMILY! Even Aubrey…"
"I could be your family Jessica, all you have to do is let me in…"
"No matter who else is in my family, the people at the lab will always be a big part of it too."
"Whatever, Jessica! I'm going home, if you change your mind call me and I'll come pick you up."
"Okay." Jessica watched Connor walk away and turned her attention to the explosion. A few minutes later Hodgins wheeled over to her. "Angie is moving the van closer so we can all wait in there, it's getting colder out here."
"Okay, thanks Hodgins."
They hadn't been in the van long when Booth jogged over, Angela rolled down the window. "They found them both. They're hurt, but it doesn't look like it's life threatening. They're getting Bones out now. Aubrey is going to take a little longer because there's more stuff they have to move to get to him. I'm going to tell Karen then go to the hospital with Bones. You can wait for Aubrey or follow us to the hospital."
"We'll wait for Aubrey."
"Okay. They will both be at D.C. General."
"Okay." Booth headed for Karen, a few minutes later he led her to a waiting SUV. A half hour later an agent walked up to the van. "Agent Aubrey is out you can follow the ambulance to the hospital."
"Okay thanks." Cam, Arastoo, and Wendell headed to their cars.
A few hours later Booth walked out of the Emergency Room and into the waiting room and over to the squints and Karen. "Bones and Aubrey are going to be okay. The doc wants Bones to stay overnight for observation because of this being her second explosion in three months. Aubrey is going into surgery because his kneecap is broken…"
It was almost 2 in the morning when Hodgins and Angela dropped Jessica off at her apartment. Aubrey would be fine after a lot of rehab on his knee. Jessica just got in bed when the theme from Star Wars began on her phone, signaling a text from Aubrey. She picked up her phone and read, 'I'm going to be fine, Jess. Thanks for waiting. Get some sleep…'
Jessica texted back, 'you're welcome, Aubrey. You too.'
A week later Jessica was standing at the meet case deciding between chicken or turkey meatloaf for her solo Christmas dinner in two days when she heard one of those motorized shopping carts beside her. "Get the chicken, your baked chicken with potatoes and green beans rocks…" Jessica looked over and smiled at Aubrey. "What are you doing here, Aubrey? You should be at home recovering!"
"I need sustenance to do that and unfortunately Karen left so I had to do a grocery run myself. Luckily if you're disabled the bus service will bring you to the door."
"I'm sorry about Karen."
"Yeah, it's for the best I think. She said she couldn't handle me risking my life like that every day…"
"Oh…"
"Yeah. Jess, we should talk …"
"When?
"Tonight?"
"Okay, I'll bring pizza…"
"Actually could you make that baked pork chop and stuffing thing?"
Jessica laughed, "Sure, I'll get the ingredients now and make it at your place. Green beans or Broccoli?"
"Both…"
"Okay. See you at 6?"
"Sounds good." Aubrey reached for his keys and got one off the ring and handed it to Jessica. "It's my spare so you can let yourself in. it will be easier than me answering the door."
"Okay."
A few hours later their empty dinner plates sat on the coffee table. "That was a great dinner, Jess thanks for making it for me."
"You're welcome, Aubrey. I made two pans so you have enough for a few days. I got broccoli and green beans in steamer bags so all you have to do is microwave them."
"Thanks, Jess."
"You're welcome, Aubrey. What did you want to talk about?"
"Us. We didn't leave things in a good spot…"
"We didn't did we?"
"No. I know I handled telling you I was thinking of taking the job in Los Angeles badly. I should have talked to you about it from the beginning."
"Aubrey…"
"Things were going great. I was very happy with our relationship, I thought you were too."
"I was VERY happy with our relationship…"
"Then why did you say we had no future here or in LA?"
"Because we don't!"
"I don't understand…"
"Once I finish my internship with Dr. Brennan I'll have to look for a job somewhere. Forensic Anthropologist jobs aren't that plentiful. I might have to move to Canada… I don't want a long distance relationship."
"So I'll become a Mountie that would be kind of cool actually. The uniforms are cool!"
Jessica laughed, "I can't ask you to give up your dream job for me, Aubrey…"
"You may not have to, it depends how my knee heals. The doctor thinks I'll recover fully, but I might not have my speed and agility back. If I can't pass the agility test then my days as an FBI field Agent are over. I could be a desk jockey, but that's just boring. "
"Aubrey…"
"How about we just hang out as friends for now and revaluate and cross whatever bridges we need to later."
"What if you want more out of our friendship?"
"If I do we'll talk about it and adapt or end it, whatever is the best for both of us."
"But…"
"Jessica, I love being with you. I love hanging out with you. I've never stopped loving you. Karen is nice, but I never loved her like I loved you."
"I love you too, Aubrey. I never stopped, I just denied it all these months. When I was out to dinner with my date and saw that the building had blown up I needed to know that you were okay. I didn't care that I was on a date with someone else you were the only thing that mattered too me at that moment."
"What about?"
"Connor got mad and left that night because I insisted on waiting at the site to see if you and Dr. B. were okay instead of going home with him. I haven't heard from him since. He was a nice guy and loved Sci-Fi, but not like you do. He wouldn't binge-watch Star Wars with me."
"A travesty! Thanks for waiting at the hospital. Karen was there, but it was more out of obligation than genuine concern for me and Dr. B."
"You're welcome, Aubrey. What are your plans for Christmas?"
"I was invited to Booth and Brennan's but it's really hard to get out the Booth's SUV so I guess I'll just stay here."
"How about I bring some Christmas movies and pizza over on Christmas Eve and we can just hang out watching movies."
"Sounds good to me. Make sure none of the movies are chick flicks."
Jessica laughed, "I was thinking National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Elf, and Home Alone with a triple meat pizza and cinnamon sticks. Then we can go to Booth and Brennan's for Christmas dinner. They invited all of the squints and interns to their house. My car should be easier for you to get out of."
"It's a date! Thanks Jess."
"You're welcome, Aubrey." Jessica cleaned up their dinner dishes and put the leftovers in the refrigerator.
"I got everything cleaned up and the leftovers are in the refrigerator I'll be over at 6 with movies, pizza and breadsticks. Call me if you need anything before then."
"I will, Jess. Thanks."
Jessica smiled and lightly kissed Aubrey's cheek before slipping on her jacket and leaving the apartment. As the door closed Aubrey smiled, the holidays weren't going to be that bad after all.
A/N2: This story took me out of my Booth and Brennan comfort zone, but I had fun writing it. I hope you like it Michelle. :)